Getting Help from Adults 65
Talking with your mother or father can be hard sometimes.
Your parents may want you to live by tradition, but you feel that
times are changing. You may feel that your parents do not listen
or try to understand you. Or you may be afraid they will get
angr y.
Your family can love you without agreeing with everything
you say. They may get angry because they care —not because
they do not like you. Try to talk with them respectfully and help
them to understand you better.
Getting
Help From
Adults
Ideas for better communication
• Choose a good time to talk, when your
parents are not busy, tired, or worried
about something else.
• Share your concerns, worries and goals
with them. Ask what they would do in
your situation.
Is this a good time
for us to talk?
• Give them something to read or show
them a picture to get them started talking.
You can read a part of this book together
if it is related to your problem.
• If you get angry, try not to shout. You can make your parents angry and they
may think you do not respect them.
• If you have tried these things and you still cannot talk to your parents, find
another older person you can talk to. It could be a teacher, the mother of a
friend, an aunt, an older sister, grandmother, someone in your place of worship,
or a health worker.
How mothers can help their daughters
You may have grown up in a time when girls were not
allowed to have an education, plan their families, or make
decisions about their lives. Life can be different for your
daughter. If you listen to her, share your own experiences, and
give her useful information, you can help her make her own
good decisions. You can help her to see the good things about
being a girl and a woman.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012